


bad behavior

by demigender



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M, also i love robots, this ship is so softe...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 08:48:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5862463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demigender/pseuds/demigender
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I-" starts Finn, face pulled into a horrified grimace as if he's sure Poe must be horribly jealous, deeply betrayed. "Man, I, sorry, I swear I didn't-"<br/>And, well, Poe might feel a <i>little</i> betrayed. Maybe a <i>bit</i> jealous.. But he wouldn't admit it. "No, it's okay," Poe says with his usual charming grin. "Sometimes she does this." No, she doesn't. "She's excited by you because you're new."<br/>-<br/>Or, Rey gets in trouble, Poe gets betrayed, and Finn is too pure for this galaxy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	bad behavior

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! First FinnPoe fic. Not sure where this happens temporally, I just had an idea and kind of went with it... Enjoy!

"What, you haven't heard of Yavin 4?"

Finn rolls his eyes, smirks and ducks his head. “You know Stormtroopers only get told things on a need-to-know basis.”

“Well, yeah, but,” Poe pauses to eat a spoon of soup. The stuff’s a little...gross, whatever. “Yeah, but Yavin 4 is more than just any old planet. It’s beautiful, it’s got forests that’ll make your knees buckle and ruins grander than this entire base. Plus, the food.”

“What about the food?”

Poe grimaces at his bowl. “Well, more taste, and less, uh, interesting textures.”

Finn laughs, a quick puff of air before he lets his face rest in a content smile. “So I’m guessing you’re done?”

Poe swings his legs over the table’s bench and hops up. “Been done, let’s get out of here.”

The two leave the mess hall side-by-side, still chattering excitedly. “You know, Finn,” Poe starts, “you just ask and I’ll take you to Yavin 4 next time I stop to visit.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Hey, I promise! It’s nice and calm there, I’ll take you to the beach and we can--” Poe’s cut off from a series of high-pitched beeps and they turn their heads to see BB-8 barreling towards them as fast as possible, quick as Poe’s ever seen her.

"Hey, BB-8, how's it-?" starts Poe, but the droid crashes into Finn's legs and circles the boy in tight, happy circles. It's as if Poe isn't even there, as if it's only Finn and that's all she'd ever want there to be.

"I-" starts Finn, face pulled into a horrified grimace as if he's sure Poe must be horribly jealous, deeply betrayed. "Man, I, sorry, I swear I didn't-"

And, well, Poe might feel a  _ little _ betrayed. Maybe a  _ bit _ jealous.. But he wouldn't admit it. "No, it's okay," Poe says with his usual charming grin. "Sometimes she does this." No, she doesn't. "She's excited by you because you're new."

Finn's face falls into one of relief and crouches down to pet the droid, BB-8 whistling as his strong hand gives a gentle stroke. "How's it going? I'm happy to see you, too."

_ Hey, Friend-Finn! _ beeps BB-8,  _ Hey! Hi! _

Finn doesn't know much of binary, but he knows that, at least. He tilts his head and says hello back.

_ Friend-Finn!! _

 

~

 

Rey likes droids, she hangs around C-3PO almost as much as she does anyone else. She likes how non-judgemental he is, how unassuming and unexpecting the droid is. After so many years by herself in the desert, she’s not as adept as socializing as she’d like, and hanging around humans all the time can be exhausting. At least with droids, they’re just as straightforward as she is and half as awkward. During time off, she’ll work on chores together with C-3PO, or trail General Organa in tandem, but today they're in the kitchen. They’re baking, or, at least, trying to.

C-3PO bows at the waist and praises her, "Very good, Master Rey! A perfect pie!"

Rey rolls her eyes. She's pulled her apple pie out from the oven and placed it on the counter, and it looks less apple pie-y and more like a...rock. Hard and black, with crispy bits falling off just from the force of gravity. "’3PO, it looks awful, and you know it."

"Not at all! For your first try, it is very impressive! I’m sure it’ll taste just as delicious as any other pie!"

She snorts. "You're just saying that because you've never eaten a pie."

"I resent that," C-3PO says, computer voice high and irritated, "I have!"

"You don't have a mouth."

"...Well!"

 

~

 

BB-8 is a mess. Poe can't keep her outside while he's working on the TIE-Fighter, or else she'll spin away every time Finn passes. For now, while he's doing touch-ups, he's got BB-8 on an honest-to-Force leash, just to make sure she's nearby. What is Finn even doing that he needs to be in the hanger so often? Poe climbs up his ladder with a ferocity, metal shaking under his stomps. Why does he stop by the runway so often? Just to make Poe jealous that his droid likes him better? He flips open the flight calibration panel and angrily sorts around the wires, fingers shoving more than perusing. Finn, who's known BB-8 for, what, a couple months? In all honesty--

His thoughts are cut off by three successive beeps ( _ It's you, Friend-Finn! _ ) and, speak of the devil, it's him. Again.

"BB-8, I'm sorry, but I gotta talk to Poe now. I'll come by later, okay?"

Sad beep. Poe rolls his eyes.

"Poe?" says Finn, and the pilot realizes he hasn't turned around yet. He does, languid, hips dipping with the movement of his legs, and slouches against the plane and looks down his nose at Finn on the ground.

Finn licks his lips and coughs. "Uh, just some stuff from Pava. She wanted me to come get you."

Poe nods in recognition and climbs down, gives BB-8 a look, and follows Finn.

"What's she want?"

"Nothing, you just looked stressed. You okay?"

As if someone’s unstopped a faucet, all of the bitterness flows right out of Poe's body, right out of his fingertips, and, fuck, does he feel like an asshole. What, he was going to be petty to the man who saved his life just because his robot kind of liked the guy? What next, he'll give Rey the silent treatment because General Organa gave her a high-five? Standing in front of Finn, Poe feels guilt wash over him as he stares at his honest, concerned face, eyebrows furrowed and framing puppy-dog eyes.

"Sorry," Poe says, shaking his head, "just making problems for myself. I really am fine."

"Honest?"

"Honest."

Finn gives him a sympathetic look and pats Poe on his back, just between his shoulderblades. “Keep it together, buddy. You’ve still got to take me to Yavin 4, you know.”

Poe throws his head back and laughs, mood lightened. “Is this what this is about? Making sure I can still be your chauffeur?”

“Well, in all honesty, I don’t know what else you’re good for.”

Poe snorts and reaches out to pinch Finn in his side, who lets out a sharp yelp.

 

~

 

"REY!" yells a voice that Rey has definitely Not heard before, and she jumps.

"Hello?"

"REY!" says the voice again, below her, and she sees a little creature, not taller than her knee, with chubby limbs and big eyes and a Kiss the Cook apron tied around their waist. "YOU REPROGRAMMED C-3PO!"

"Sorry?"

The creature stops one, two, three times angrily. "LOOK INSIDE!" They point with a leathery finger to the kitchens, and Rey makes her way there warily.

Inside, she sees C-3PO standing in shock in front of...is that Rey's pie? It sure is as black as the one she made yesterday, but she could’ve sworn they had thrown it out. She approaches and places a hand gently on his cold metal.

"Hey, C-3PO...it's okay. I can learn how to make a nicer pie. It's fine."

"No, I, Master Rey.." The robot turns toward her slowly, static eyes somehow full of despair. "I made this pie."

"You--" She looks at the pie, at C-3PO, at the little gremlin, at the pie, back at C-3PO. "I don't understand."

The gremlin huffs and scuttles off out of the kitchen, disappears for a second, and returns with a stepladder taller than they are. They place it by the counter, climb up onto it, pad their way across to where the wooden spoons are held, and make their way next to Rey.

"YOU REPROGRAMMED C-3PO."

She scoffs. "I didn't do-"

The gremlin whacks her with the spoon on her upper arm, and repeats. "YOU REPROGRAMMED C-3PO."

"OW! You little--" Rey lunges forward to hit the little thing back, but they yelp and speeds off, down the stepladder and out of the room, out of sight.

She pouts for a second, rubbing the tender spot where she was hit, and then redirects her attention to C-3PO. He seems a bit less distraught, as much as Rey can tell. Without the help of expressions, Rey can really never assume much about what C-3PO is feeling. "What was that all about? I don't even know the first thing about programming droid knowledge."

"I'm so sorry, Master Rey, allow me to explain.” He sighs, turns to pick up the pie, and gives it to Rey for her to hold. “See, droids mimic the behavior of their masters...and, well..." He gives a sad hum.

It clicks and Rey breathes out, "And you mimicked my shitty cooking behavior."

"I was going to use less colorful language, but, yes. I can re-learn, but we maybe shouldn't spend more time in the kitchen until you learn some better cooking skills. If that wouldn't be too much of a bother, Master Rey."

"No, yeah, of course not. Sorry, buddy, I didn't know--"

"YOU REPROGRAMMED C-3PO!" The gremlin has poked his head back inside and Rey jumps, climbs over the counter, and scrambles to catch the little thing.

"MASTER REY!" C-3PO calls, but it's too late. "Oh, dear."

 

~

 

She doesn't catch it.

 

~

 

Finn sits underneath Poe’s TIE-Fighter the next day, propped on boxes with a BB-8 humming contentedly in his lap. “You don’t need help?”

Poe waves at him behind his back, focused on what he’s doing. “Nah,” he says around the wrench he’s got stuck in his mouth sideways.

“You sure?”

“Paaaaasatiff.” He reaches with his foot and hooks it onto a welding gun, carefully bending his knee until he can grab onto it with his hand.

“I don’t know..,” Finn murmurs, fingers tapping nervously on BB-8’s shell. He huffs and decides on a course of action, places BB-8 on the ground with a rushed sorry (“ _ Friend-Finn, whyyy!” _ ) and carefully props a ladder next to Poe, on the other side of the wing where Poe has placed his collection tools.

“Hey!” Poe spits out the wrench, puts it on the wing, and grins. “Come round here often?”

Finn rolls his eyes. “You willing to admit you need help?”

“Nah. Pass me my helmet?”

Finn sighs. “Figures.” He passes him a welding helmet and Poe puts it on with one hand, slapping the top of it to make sure it’s secure. He welds the spot where the wing meets the body of the plane, Finn squinting and leaning back as he watches. When he’s done, he gives the spot a bit of extra puffs, and then places the gun and helmet back on the wing and rests his elbows next to them, putting his chin in his hands.

“Hey, Finn,” he says, smirking.

Finn scoffs, but does the same, lips turning up at the corners. The two stare at each other over the wing, suspended eight feet in the air. “Hey, Poe.” Poe smiles, big and wide, not expecting this reaction from Finn.

He decides to barrel on, see how far he can push this. “You look nice next to my plane.”

Finn’s cheeks heat up. “You look...nice….next to your plane, too?”

“You look nicer.”

“You don’t have a lot of compliments in your repertoire, huh?” Finn raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “I thought you would be more of a sweet-talker.”

Poe laughs, big and deep. “Do you _ want _ me to be a sweet-talker?”

“No! No, that’s not what I...oh, man.”

“‘Cause, Finn, I can be a real sweet-talker. I can sweet-talk the kriff out of anybody.”

“Poe..,” Finn says, but his shy smile gives him away.

Poe reaches out and grabs Finn’s hands from under his chin, holds them between the both of them. He puffs his chest in mock-passion, exaggerating his expression so Finn knows he’s kidding. “I’ll take you to Yavin 4 and we’ll stay on the beach for hours, sweet-talking the entire time, passing the hours in a haze of romance. You’ll make a fire and I’ll cook the food, and then we can watch the sun set with full bellies and I’ll whisper sweet nothings.” He leans forward (as far as he can without tipping his ladder) and waggles his eyebrows. “You’ll want to throw up the food to make room for all that sweet-talk, I swear.”

Finn makes a disgusted sound and wrenches his hands out of Poe’s grasp, laughing. “Not on your life, buddy.”

“Aww, give a poor pilot a chance!”

Finn just pulls a face before being distracted by BB-8’s hurried beeps, loud and shrieking. There’s not a second until the two of them both immediately descend to the ground, rushing to BB-8 as quickly as their legs will carry them

“What, what is it?” Poe kneels down, hand tentatively hovering over his droid where it’s straining against its leash, beeps more and more frantic.

“ _ Friend-Finn! _ ”

“What, what about Finn?” Poe glances back at Finn, who shrugs, and he stares back at BB-8 with furrowed brows.

“ _ I miss Friend-Finn! _ ”

“You...you miss Finn.”

The droid beeps. Poe squints disappointedly at her, Finn’s laughter booming behind him. The boy steps forward and kneels beside Poe, quieting BB-8 with a pat. “It’s ok, BB-8, I missed you, too.”

“Whuh,” Poe groans, “y-you were up there for, what, just five minutes!”

“We have a special bond, Dameron,” Finn states simply.

 

~

 

Rey keeps a wide berth of the kitchen on her way to her quarters, eyes nervously darting behind her, and it’s only force sense that stops her from completely colliding into Poe.

“Hey, Rey!” he says, slapping a hand on her shoulder.

“Poe,” she greets warmly, and Poe puts his hands on his hips, head tilted and smile lazy.

“What’re you up to? Don’t see you around here that often, you know.”

“Oh, no..,” she glances behind her, tugs on Poe’s arm for him to turn around and follow her, and keeps walking, “no reason. What about you? And you, BB-8?” She leans down, looking for the droid, only to turn up empty. She straightens up and fixes Poe with a confused look.

“Ah, she’s with...Finn.”

“Finn?”

“Yeah, she’s...she’s taken a real liking to him?” he grins sheepishly, not sure what Rey will think of his own droid ditching him for someone else.

Rey stops, crosses her arms and smirks. “Is that so?”

“Y-yeah. Don’t really know why, from what I can tell they bickered the moment they met, as I’m sure you know, and they haven’t spent much time together after Starkiller...but, uh. BB-8 really loves Finn, and Finn’s willing to humor her. Finn’s even picked up some binary.”

Rey shoots him an impatient look. “Haven’t you had a droid for, like, years? Don’t you know, like, everything about them?”

“Yeah?”

She rolls her eyes. “You know, C-3PO told me this really neat fact the other day.”

“Uh.”

“You know droids copy their master’s behavior?”

Poe blinks. “Not following. Are we on a different topic now? Did you change this subject? I’m confused.”

“Kriff, I swear,” she puts a hand on either of Poe’s shoulders and looks him in the eye, “BB-8 is copying you.”

Poe scoffs, rolls his eyes. “As if! I don’t do that…” He freezes, eyes glazing over, and Rey can actually see the realization wash over him. “Oh. Oh I. I do that. I do those things.”

Rey raises her eyebrows.

“Oh. Oh, no.” He grasps Rey’s elbows, eyes searching her face. “Oh, this is bad. I’ve got it bad, Rey.”

“Yeah, I’m guessing you do.”

“What am I going to do? Oh, shit, I am not good at this stuff.”

Rey’s face scrunches up. “You flirt with people all the time.”

“That’s different! That’s not real, this is...very real and, I’ve, uh, said some things… Rey, I’m screwed.”

Rey gives him a sympathetic look, squeezes his shoulders a little. “Don’t worry, you’ve got this. Finn is literally a different person when he’s around you, I’m sure the feeling’s mutual.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah!” Rey takes her hands off and gesticulates wildly. “He’s so much more giggly, he’s always smiling, he can’t take his damn eyes off you. If he had his own droid, I’m sure you’d have your own little admirer.”

Poe beams. “Really?”

Rey nods. Then pauses. She shrugs a little, eyes squinting as she thinks. “I mean, I don’t have much experience in this department. So, take that with a grain of salt, I guess.”

Poe groans.

~

“Finn?” Poe asks, tentatively, when he sees his friend next, in the middle of an open courtyard.

“Hmm?” Finn turns around and Poe is more...aware of him than he’s ever been before. He knows now that his affinity for giving long, sweeping looks to his friend and staring at anywhere but his eyes was a little more than just appreciating his friend’s body, and his own body is starting to react appropriately. Or, rather, inappropriately, telling by how sweaty his palms are getting. He clears his throat before continuing.

“Remember my, uh, Yavin 4 offer?”

“Yeah, of course. Were you..,” he grins, stars in his eyes, “were you serious?”

Poe nods, heart fluttering. “I was! I was. Um.” He takes Finn by the elbow and walks him to the edge of the courtyard, looking for privacy. He finds it in a corridor leading to the medbay, empty except for supplies strewn about. They stand in front of each other, Poe suddenly feeling very small, wondering if maybe it’s not to late to just leave Finn in this corridor and go on with his day as if nothing happened. “I just...this is hard.”

“What’s hard?”

Poe pushes the first dirty innuendo that pops up out of his mind. He’s been spending too much time with his squad. “Just, uh. Okay, listen, Rey told me something about droids that might explain BB-8’s, uh,  _ behavior _ around you.”

“Something bad?”

“No, just, you’ll see.” He clears his throat again. “So, droids copy the behavior of their masters. To put it simply.” Finn looks on confusedly. Poe can feel heat creep up his neck. “They, um, mimic their owner’s behavior. It’s a part of their...bonding protocol, or whatever they call it. It makes it easier for the droid to perform in accordance with their master’s wishes. It’s, why, um, C-3PO is so curt. Since Leia is curt. And, uh, you know. Why BB-8 is so affectionate towards you. And wants to spend so much time with you.” He scratches the back of his neck sheepishly and looks down. He feels ridiculous, he’s done things that required ten times the amount of courage that this should, but he still feels like he’s going to shake out of his skin. “It’s why she, um, likes you so much.”

“Poe.”

Poe looks up, up into warm, hopeful eyes. Finn speaks slowly, lips forming carefully around his words. “Is it because...you like me so much?”

“Yes,” he says breathlessly, “so much.”

Finn smiles, big and bright and Poe’s heart melts. “That’s, um. I. I feel funny saying this.”

“Well, I’d say you don’t need to say it, but I’ll be honest. I’m a little curious.”

Finn ducks his heads, averts his eyes. “I, uh. I like you, too? Sorry, I didn’t ever get any, um. Experience with, uh. Crushes as a ‘trooper.” He frowns, frustrated. “Sorry if I sound...cheesy.”

Poe feels like he’s been stabbed in the chest with how sweet Finn is, halting and hesitant but still so earnest. “No! No, no, please. Be cheesy!” He smiles, glad when he sees Finn smile back. “Be cheesy all you want. I’m not expecting anything.”

Finn’s smile is small, puckered. He watches Poe for a while, and the pilot can feel heat creep up ever higher under Finn’s gaze. It feels like forever until Finn finally speaks, some bravado back in him. “Poe.” he pauses, bites on his tongue in a way that makes Poe’s stomach flip-flop. “Will you sweet-talk me on the beaches of Yavin 4?”

Poe huffs a laugh and nods slowly, hands coming up to rest on Finn’s waist. “Yes. Yeah, of course.”

“You swear?”

I’ll sweet-talk you on Yavin 4, I’ll sweet-talk you here, I’ll sweet-talk you anywhere I can take you.”

“Right here?”

“Mmhmm.”

“In front of everybody?”

Poe glances to the side and, really, from the little corridor he’s got the both of them into, there’s not much of a vantage point. It’s just a regular hallway, not very well lit, but Poe doesn’t care too much either way. “In front of the galaxy.” Poe’s immensely satisfied by how Finn’s eyes widen at that, how his hands twitch, and he decides he’d very much like for that to happen more often. He leans in, eyes fluttering closed, until he can feels Finn’s breath ghosting over his mouth…

“ _ Finn! _ ”

Both of the boys jump, separating from each other in an instant, searching for the source of the beeps.

They look down and, of course, there’s the little orange droid, lens focusing in and out of Finn’s face. It chirps Finn’s name again and he shoots Poe an apologetic look, kneeling down to say hello.

“I can’t believe it. BB-8, you have impeccable timing,” scolds Poe, and BB-8 beeps back at him cheerfully.

He sighs, kneels next to Finn. He watches Finn’s dark hand pet BB-8, the round metal body spinning in joy. It’s...kind of weird thinking that Poe is the source of that, that her behavior is copied from his source code. He watches with mixed feelings, deciding finally on a calm resignation.

“I can’t be too upset. I guess this is...partly my fault,” Poe sighs. “It’s...a little ironic.”

Still knelt, Finn huffs. “Well, as long as...as long as we, you know. Know. Like we do now.” Finn’s face softens, his gaze on the droid wistful. “I’m not complaining.”

Poe nods, hoping Finn can see him out of his periphery. After a second, very softly, he responds “I’m not either.”

When Poe finally looks at Finn, he’s looking right back, and both mirror each other in their wide gazes, parted lips, quickened breath.

“Can I-?” whispers Poe.

“Please,” breathes Finn.

BB-8 complains very loudly when their lips touch, but it’s to no avail. She waits, whistling impatiently until, eventually, she just rolls away. She’ll come back later, maybe when Friend-Finn and Friend-Poe aren’t so... _ preoccupied _ .

**Author's Note:**

> Listen. Someone mentioned in another fic offhandedly that BB-8 liked Finn because of Poe and I just...couldn't stop thinking about it....I probably should've edited more but sometimes u just gotta live in the moment!!!  
> Edit: apparently I rly should've edited more I can't keep my pronouns straight! Fixed some of em


End file.
